(see related) Premier Giorgia Meloni thanked Tunisia for its efforts to combat human traffickers after bilateral talks with President Kais Saied on Tunis on Wednesday.
"I want to once again thank the Tunisian authorities andPresident Saied for the work we try to carry out togetheragainst human traffickers," Meloni said.
"We know that Tunisia cannot become the country of arrival for migrants.
"Cooperation on this must be strengthened.
"We want to involve international organizations, work on repatriations and, above all, on legal (migrant) flows, as wedid with the decree that enables around 12,000 trained Tunisian citizens to legally come to it.
"I believe that much more can be done by Italy on the legal migration front, but it is essential that we work together to continue to fight the slaver-traders of the third millennium, the mafia organizations that exploit the legitimate aspirations of those who would like a better life".